In this new score for the 1913 silent film Suspense, the oboe, tenor saxophone, and double bass take on distinct musical identities. A recurring oboe motif is associated with the tramp, while the tenor saxophone is associated with the husband and the double bass with the wife. Fixed media extends their sound world and heightens the film’s psychological tension.

As the film cuts back and forth between the car chase and the house, the oboe and tenor saxophone exchange an adaptation of the Korean folk song Jindo Arirang in a call and response. The tramp and husband briefly share a melody even as they remain in conflict. Percussion from the fixed-media track introduces a semachi jangdan, a Korean rhythmic pattern, beneath their exchange. Against the urgency of the chase, the folk melody feels strangely out of place, creating a restless momentum and an uneasy sense of displacement.

Through these shifting musical perspectives, the score follows the film’s action while revealing its underlying tension.

This work was composed as part of NIMAcademy 2026.